Warriors hold off lowly Bucks

OAKLAND -- Mark Jackson said the Warriors' beating Milwaukee qualified as a good win. The coach said the win was a big one, too.

The Warriors might have hung on to a 115-110 victory Thursday against a 13-win team that owns the worst record in the NBA yet made the game close all the way down to the final minute, but Jackson emphasized that no matter how it came about, it was a win.

"We used to be on the other side trying to figure out how to win games," Jackson said. "And what it takes is patience. And you don't jump steps. By losing games like this, we've learned how to win them.

"I'm pleased with the fact that we used to leave this building upset that we gave one away. So I'm not going to lose sight of we left here with a win."

Klay Thompson hit a 3-pointer with 38.3 seconds left off a pass from Draymond Green to give the Warriors a 111-105 lead and breathing room. Thompson finished with 29 points for his career-high fourth consecutive game of scoring at least 20 points.

Stephen Curry had a game-high 31 points and 11 assists in 38 minutes while playing without restrictions stemming from a quad strain suffered earlier this month, but the Warriors couldn't quite pull away from the lottery-bound Bucks.

"We've struggled with games like this before," Curry said. "Obviously, you'd want it to be prettier and not give up 110 points, but you can learn these lessons and win rather than the other way around.

"It's kind of counterproductive to think negatively about tonight's win."

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After all, the Warriors have lost at home to such Eastern Conference teams as Charlotte, Cleveland and Washington. This week, they bounced back to handle Orlando and Milwaukee.

Not that it was easy. Brandon Knight scored 27 points, and Ramon Sessions added 18 points off the bench and was one of four Bucks reserves to score in double figures, as the Warriors struggled to even get stops against the opposing "B" squad.

Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry (30) goes up for a layup against the Milwaukee Bucks in the first quarter of their game at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif., on Thursday, March 20, 2014. (Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group)

The Warriors with their win moved 18 games over .500, marking the first time they reached that point in 20 years. To get there, it was a grind, as eight lead changes made the Oracle Arena crowd nervous in the second half.

The Warriors needed Jordan Crawford, who scored 12 points, to hit shots in the second half just to keep Milwaukee at bay, and he beat the third-quarter buzzer with a deep 3-pointer.

Crawford had the ball with 1.5 seconds left in the third quarter and managed to hit that shot to push the lead to 82-75 as the Warriors gained a brief respite before still going down to the final minute with the game in question. Thompson ended up sealing the win with a 3-pointer of his own.

"I respect them because those guys played really hard," Thompson said of the Bucks.

David Lee added 22 points and 12 rebounds. Andrew Bogut returned to the lineup after a one-game absence because of left ankle inflammation and had eight points and 12 rebounds.

"I wasn't thrilled with the way we played," Lee said. "The most important thing is, though, we were able to get a victory tonight."

The Bucks, losers of nine of their past 10 games, still managed to hang tough after learning starting guard Nate Wolters sustained a left hand fracture in the game.

Warriors backup big man Jermaine O'Neal did not play for a second straight game, as Jackson has rested him and made him available only in emergency situations since he was banged up in the first half of Sunday's win at Portland. Center Ognjen Kuzmic was recalled from Santa Cruz and played in the fourth.

Harrison Barnes has struggled in his two starts in place of the injured Andre Iguodala, scoring a combined four points on 1-for-13 shooting. He missed all five 3-point attempts against Milwaukee.